New Alberta Environment and Parks Groundwater Directive for Thermal In Situ Projects
On May 29, 2018, Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) issued Directive for the Assessment of Thermally-Mobilized Constituents in Groundwater for Thermal In Situ Operations (https://www.alberta.ca/water-legislation-and-guidelines.aspx). This directive applies to all thermal in situ operations holding an approval under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act (EPEA).
For new projects, a project assessment must be submitted at the time of application. Following approval, a groundwater monitoring program proposal must be developed and submitted to us. Applicants who currently have thermal in situ applications filed with the AER should consult their AER EPEA contact by June 30, 2018, for direction on how to amend their applications.
For existing projects, an updated groundwater monitoring report must be submitted to the AER at the frequency specified in the project’s EPEA approval and outlined in the approval holder’s groundwater monitoring program proposal.
Projects that are currently suspended must fulfil the requirements of section 9.2 of the directive before resuming operations. An updated groundwater monitoring report must be submitted to the AER within the approval holder’s next regularly scheduled reporting period.
Initial groundwater monitoring reports and proposals under this directive must be submitted separately from normal EPEA groundwater monitoring reports and titled “Groundwater Thermal Proposal <EPEA Approval No.>”. Subsequent thermal monitoring under the directive must be included in the approval holder’s regular EPEA groundwater monitoring reports.
For questions relating to section 1 of the directive, please contact AEP at @email.
For all other questions, please contact the AER at @email or reach out to your AER EPEA contact.
<original signed by>
Mark Taylor
Executive Vice President
Operations Division